The Pentagon announced new grooming standards this week, including a mandate that members of the armed services be “clean shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance.”
In a statement on Monday, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “recently directed the Services to implement the following grooming standards for facial hair” following a “rapid force-wide review of military standards.”
“The grooming standard set by the U.S. military is to be clean shaven and neat in presentation for a proper military appearance,” Hegseth said in the statement.
President Donald Trump signed an order earlier this month to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, restoring the historic name that “led the U.S. to victory in the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II.” The president said the moniker change would inspire “confidence in America’s military strength” and convey “a stronger message of readiness and resolve” to U.S. adversaries.
Under Trump’s order, Hegseth is authorized to use the title secretary of War, but an act of Congress will be required for a permanent title change.
According to Parnell’s statement, exceptions to the new shaving policy are permissible, but military commanders “must apply consistent criteria and appropriately consider the Department’s interests in safety and uniformity when authorizing individual exceptions.”
“Military medical officers will provide a written recommendation concerning a shaving waiver to the commander who is the final approval authority,” the statement read. “Service members with an approved shaving waiver will participate in a medical treatment plan.”
“Unit commanders will initiate separation of Service members who require a shaving waiver after more than one year of medical treatment,” it added.
Hegseth stressed the importance of grooming standards for facial hair in his August memo to senior Pentagon leadership.
“The Department must remain vigilant in maintaining the grooming standards which underpin the warrior ethos,” the secretary said.
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